McCain Camp: Not Important For Sarah Palin to Talk to Press

Viewers may lament the fact that Oprah won't have Sarah Palin, or any candidate, on her show until after the election, but the decision may be irrelevant since the McCain campaign has dismissed the media's role in asking questions of the candidate. Apparently speeches, campaign events and ads, and a debate will be enough to teach Americans what they need to know about the national novice at number two.

Unscripted interviews and insight could help those who want to be as comfortable with the VP as they are with the top of the ticket, in the case that Palin must replace McCain. But others suspect that the public might give the McCain camp a pass for keeping her in the shadows. Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic says: "If Palin sat for one major television interview with, say, a gentle but probing Diane Sawyer . . . and then an interview with her local paper in Alaska . . . and then gave no press avails and held no press conferences . . . the media would complain a lot. Would people care?"

Well, do you care if Sarah Palin can answer tough questions from a reporter?

Oh I know - I just read that and had to snicker, even though its not really funny..its pretty damn sad actually.
Calling that a "gaffe" is really understating it, not only have Fannie and Freddie even been all over the news, they've also been in existence for ages.
So..knowing nothing about it, then choosing a "safe" answer by prattling off some comment about taxpayers...yeah. Okay. Right.
Come on, people..seriously. SERIOUSLY?? Seriously???
You should EXPECT your candidates to be willing to talk to the press, regardless of their affiliation. If they can't, then there is a reason why.
You should EXPECT that after two weeks at the very LEAST this woman would READ HEADLINES.
Ffs.
Seriously.

well it looks like we wont have to wait for a gaffe to be made during an interview. she made one over the weekend at a rally about the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation and even conservative economists are calling her out on it here is the link to the story.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/08/palin-makes-her-first-gaf_n_124792.html

Well, I disagree. To me, she was preparing for the convention. Had she not given interviews at all or had she been announced a month before the election and not given an interview, my assessment would be different. It is not at all unusual for a candidate to not give interviews during the convention. I can't think of a candidate ever giving a sit down interview during a convention.

Biden has been talking to the press so there's no comparison to Palin. And Palin should have been ready to handle the press from day one - if she can't handle reporters, how can we trust that she can handle anything tougher?

Off the cuff questions.. questions that you haven't been coached to answer.. answering honestly and spontaneously.. says a lot to me when it comes to politicians. You can make any incompetent fool look like a genius if he can memorize a speech written by some one else or is good with a teleprompter.. when someone has to face an unfriendly interview on a tough subject.. that can show you a lot in regards to their knowledge of the issues, character, morals and intelligence.

I dont have a problem with her not talking to the press, I wouldnt have a problem with Biden not talking either, We can know her views in other ways, and since the media is anything but biased I dont blame them.
Our great leaders, in history, werent made great because they talked to the press, it was thier actions.

yeah, that interview was a little awkward. i just want to point something a little funny out... one of the pictures they showed, after the polar bear discussion, was of Sarah with a polar bear pin on her jacket. lol. I guess it could've been any bear though.

Sorry, pinkprincess, I didn't mean to jump the gun and say that you were saying it was negative. I was just offering my assessment. And I didn't see them, actually, so thanks for putting it out there. I will have to try to YouTube it or something!

And I had heard that McCain and Palin had some co-town halls in the works, so there's a good chance she will be answering to the American people. That was just a rumor I read, though, and it was on a blog somewhere, so I don't know the truth behind it.